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How Visit Franklin wants to welcome visitors back to Williamson County

With the economy reopening, the Williamson County Convention and Tourism Bureau has created a three-phase process to welcome back visitors.

The plan officially launches May 6 with part one — inviting Williamson County residents to play tourists in their hometown rather than travel elsewhere. This week, retail and restaurants will reopen back to 50% capacity in Franklin and across the Midstate.

Visit Franklin has also created a tourism recovery task force, which is composed of 12 members representing retail, restaurants and hotels.

"Right now is not the time to invite visitors back to the community," Visit Franklin CEO Ellie Westman Chin said. "First and foremost, we want our residents to be safe. We would like our residents to get out when they are comfortable doing that. We know residents are going to help create the demand to get them back open and to 100% as we are allowed to. It was difficult to create a plan. We aren’t sure residents want to welcome visitors, so we want to invite residents to help businesses get back on their feet."

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Lee and Johnny Laing enjoy having a meal inside Puckett’s. Puckett’s opened on Monday at 50% capacity in Williamson County. While restaurants in 89 Tennessee counties are being allowed to reopen on Monday, those in six of the state’s largest counties are making decisions on their own in Franklin, Tenn. Monday, April 27, 2020.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

Graeme Asch reopened Franklin Mercantile to the public on Monday at 50% capacity in Williamson County. Every other table had an “x” to mark that it couldn’t be used. While restaurants in 89 Tennessee counties are being allowed to reopen on Monday, those in six of the state’s largest counties are making decisions on their own in Franklin, Tenn. Monday, April 27, 2020.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

A server at Puckett’s wipes down tables and chairs after customers left. Puckett’s opened on Monday at 50% capacity in Williamson County. While restaurants in 89 Tennessee counties are being allowed to reopen on Monday, those in six of the state’s largest counties are making decisions on their own in Franklin, Tenn. Monday, April 27, 2020.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

Merridee’s isn’t opening until Wednesday at 50% capacity to allow for implementing all of the protocols as mandated by the government. While restaurants in 89 Tennessee counties are being allowed to reopen on Monday, those in six of the state’s largest counties are making decisions on their own in Franklin, Tenn. Monday, April 27, 2020. Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

Puckett’s opened with inside and outside seating on Monday at 50% capacity in Williamson County. While restaurants in 89 Tennessee counties are being allowed to reopen on Monday, those in six of the state’s largest counties are making decisions on their own in Franklin, Tenn. Monday, April 27, 2020.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

A sign lets customers know that only half of the seating can be used.
Puckett’s opened on Monday at 50% capacity in Williamson County. While restaurants in 89 Tennessee counties are being allowed to reopen on Monday, those in six of the state’s largest counties are making decisions on their own in Franklin, Tenn. Monday, April 27, 2020.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

The department also released figures showing visitor spending at the county's all-time high of $479.5 million. This figure placed the county as the sixth best in the state's tourism economy.

Phase one of the bureau's plan could last awhile, Westman Chin said. There's not a time set on when it ends, and it's also data driven, she said. As more interest in tourism develops over the summer, the second phase will involve the "drive economy," or those visitors who can reach Franklin in a day's drive.

"We don’t know what our new normal is yet, but eventually we know people will get out," she said. "Some people have pent-up dollars. People are anxious to getting out there. As Americans we aren’t good at staying home. We are looking at the Birmingham, Atlanta and Louisville markets for that drive economy along with Knoxville and north Georgia."

The final phase includes reaching back out on a national level to attract visitors. As to when that happens, she's not sure when.

"Our numbers are pretty flat right now," she said. "But I think right now we focus on residents rediscovering their county and their city."

Emily West is a reporter for The Tennessean, covering Franklin, Brentwood and Williamson County. Follow her on Twitter at @emwest22 or email her at erwest@tennessean.com.